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Macedonia takes key step towards joining NATO

NATO allies have signed a protocol that could see the tiny Balkan country become the military alliance's 30th member. Macedonia's NATO membership had been blocked for a decade by neighboring Greece over a name dispute.

Macedonia came a step closer to joining NATO on Wednesday after the two sides signed accession papers in Brussels.

Shape-shifting Macedonia

Present day

As well as Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the geographic region of Macedonia extends into Albania, Bulgaria and Serbia as well as small areas of Kosovo (which you can't quite see here).

Shape-shifting Macedonia

Greek origins

The ancient kingdom of Macedonia – or Macedon – was a relatively small part of the present day Greek province of Macedonia. It first expanded under King Perdiccas I, then widened to take in other areas.

Shape-shifting Macedonia

A Roman province

After the fall of the Greek Empire, the Romans – who admired Alexander – used the old name Macedonia for the province encompassing much of northern Greece and the area north of it – including much of the modern-day Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Shape-shifting Macedonia

A shift to the east

With the breakup of the Roman Empire into East and West, this region was overrun by the Slavic invasions. An entirely new province far to the east, including part of Thrace in modern-day Turkey, was named Macedonia by the Byzantine Empress Irene of Athens.

Shape-shifting Macedonia

Ottoman roots for current concept

The geographic region known as Macedonia today roughly equates to the part of the Ottoman Empire known as Ottoman Vardar Macedonia. It included Greek and Slavic areas and was split into three administrative units, but the concept of Macedonia persisted. This remained the case for centuries and so this concept – of what Macedonia is – has stuck.

Shape-shifting Macedonia

Let's put that all together...

...and there's certainly a fair bit of overlap — and room for confusion.

Shape-shifting Macedonia

Small matter of empire

Of course, Macedonia's King Alexander the Great's realm stretched all the way to India — but it would be a bit of a stretch to call that Macedonia

Shape-shifting Macedonia

A heady mix of flavors

As if it weren’t complicated enough, there’s another meaning of the word Macedonia. In Greece and many Latin-language-speaking countries, it’s also a fruit salad. The name is thought to have ben popularized at the end of the 18th century, referring to either the ethnic diversity of Alexander's vast empire or the ethnic mix of Ottoman Macedonia.